How The Caged Bird Sings
by TheWhistler
Summary: A former child prodigy falls in love with the Gru family after agreeing to teach Edith piano. When her own father reappears in her life, she will do whatever she can to keep the family she loves safe from the family she left behind.
1. Chapter 1

Clomp, clomp, clomp.

She focused on the steady thuds her boots were making on the white and blue tiles as she wandered down the hallway in search of a snack machine. She grinned as she thought of how mad her big sister would be if she knew she was skipping a class. Just this morning Margo had given her a long winded speech over breakfast about the importance of school.

"Edith, you need to quit goofing around in school. Yeah, you're making good grades right now," she had said, stirring up Agnes' chocolate milk thoughtfully, "but thats because you're in an easy grade. Wait until you get older, to keep your grades up you're going to have to actually study." Edith had stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Oh stop it, studying can be fun!... No, really, it can!" She had gone on for quite a while after that, but by then the younger sister had totally zoned out. She was using her index finger to design a ray gun in the cream cheese on her bagle when she caught the end of her sisters lecture. "...and people who go to college make at least a million dollars more than people who don't go. Right Dad?" They both looked at their father, who currently had a mouthful of waffle shoved in his cheek as he attempted to help his youngest daughter wipe sticky syrup off her hands. He looked up at the mention of his name and swallowed his waffle down in one huge gulp.

"Hmm? Oh, yes yes, dee college. Um, verry important."

Thinking back on it, her dad had obviously been zonked out as well.

Edith had actually tried to follow Margo's advice for the first few periods of the day, then the teacher had called out for them to get their mathbooks and she was o-u-t out of there. She'd already had enough useless information shoved in her head for one day, and the fact that she was starving didn't help at all. She slipped out of her chair when the teacher had his back turned and rolled towards the open door as soon as she was sure the coast was clear.

Now, where was that snack machine? She stopped in the middle of the hallway and pushed her hat up above her eyes a little so that she could see better as she looked around. She must've gone down the wrong hallway. As she turned to go back the way she came, a muffled sound reached her ears. She paused mid step and tried to stand as still as she could in order to hear better. It was definitely music, but where was it coming from?

As she expiramentally took a few more steps towards the end of the hallway, the music got louder. A few more steps and she was able to decipher the instrument.

"A piano!" she whispered excitedly, as if speaking to loudly would cause the music to suddenly disappear. She had reached the very last door and it was obvious it was the room that contained the music. Her curiosity overtook her immediately and she turned the handle and cracked the door just enough to see inside.

As soon as the door was opened, the music cleared and amplified so that she could hear the actual song that was being played. It was absolutely exhilarating. At first there were just long dark notes being played, then it broke off into much shorter notes that went up and down at such a fast speed it was almost chaotic. Then, the entire mood changed all of a sudden. Light, whimsical sounds took the place of the dark mood that was being emitted before. Edith realized that her jaw had dropped but she didn't bother picking it back up. She was so focused on what she was hearing it was like all her other senses had shut down. She couldn't see the room, couldn't smell the fresh wax smell that lingered throughout the school, couldn't feel the doorframe under her fingers, she couldn't even think. She could just hear and she had never heard anything like this before. Although the tone had lightened, the speed was so slow, almost hesitant and unsure. She hadn't known that sadness had a sound before but now she was positive that it did, and she was listening to it. Soundly it got louder and louder and it switched back to the heavy dark sound it was started with. It got faster and louder as it dissolved back into chaos and finally came to an end with one beautiful resolved chord.

Edith remained frozen as the ghost of the note rang in the air. After a few seconds her senses returned to her and she took a long glance over the room to see just what had made that beautiful music. Starting at the far end of the room, she noticed tons of instruments lined up against the wall. Violins, trumpets, clarinets, a harp, cellos, flutes, trombones, and some that she didn't even recognized. And then she found the source of the music.

Tucked in the corner was a large piano, so well taken care of that it could have been brand new. Sitting on the bench slouched over the now covered keys of the piano was a dark haired woman. She was hiding her face in one hand while the other ran absentmindedly across her instrument, as if longing to remove the barrier and resume her song.

Edith couldn't hold it in any longer. "Whoooaaa!" The woman must have jumped four feet in the air. As soon as her feet were back on the ground she spun around to face her onlooker.

"Oh! Y-you scared me, how, um, how long have you been standing there?" She switched seemlessly between fright and nervousness. The young blonde bounced further into the class room.

"Long enough to hear your amazing song! That was soo cool, how do you do that?" The woman had met her in the middle of the room and was now leading her to a chair.

"How are you feeling?" She kneeled so she was eye to eye with Edith and studied her face carefully. "Do you feel odd at all, anything?" The girl impulsivly adjusted the pink hat on her head.

"Nope, I feel great, why?"

"Well uh, you aren't in class, so I thought you might be sick. I was just checking," she said, her calm voice a contrast to the dull shade of pink her face had turned. It faded almost immediatly and her mouth turned up in a sincere smile. "You liked my song?"

"Well yeah!" She said, throwing her arms up exuberantly. "It was only the most awesome thing ever!" The woman chuckled as she studied the girl, who was kicking her short legs back and forth from her perch on the plastic chair. She seemed unable to sit still. "How many of those instruments can you play?" She asked, pointing down the room.

"Well, um, all of them," the brunette replied, taking a seat across from her guest, whose mouth was now hanging open.

"Whoa! Are you a genius or something?"

The woman gave her a sad smile. "Not exactly..." She smoothed a crease in her black pants as she realized she didn't know the little girl's name yet. "Do you have a name, Blondie?" The girl flashed her a bold smile.

"Sure do!" She hopped out of her chair and grabbed one of the womans hands in both of her small ones. "I'm Edith Gru," she said as she shook her hand in an almost exaggerated fashion. The woman laughed at the girl's hyper antics.

"It's nice to meet you, Edith Gru. I'm Jane Harvey."

"So are you a band director or something?" Edith asked, releasing her hand to go to her shelves study some of the instruments. Jane watched her nervously, just to make sure nothing got broken.

"Unfortunately the band director position was filled. I'm just kind of a general music teacher for now. My first day's tomorrow." She flinched as Edith came very close to dropping a cymbol, but breathed out in relief when she caught it just in time.

"What grades is the class for?" She asked hopefully. Jane took a moment to try to remember the schedule they'd given her.

"I think I have every grade at least once every two weeks." She grinned as Edith clapped in obvious excitement. She glanced at her piano and then back at the child. She only took a moment to consider before she spoke again. "Would you like to play my piano, Blondie?" She might have regretted asking if Edith's elation hadn't cancelled out the feeling. But as she watched the girl skip to the instrument she still found herself thinking don't break it, please don't break it, please, please. But she was pleasantly surprised when the girl calmed as soon as she hit the bench. She looked up at Jane with eyes that were half concealed by her hat and waited for instruction.

Janes heart skipped a beat as a thought ran through her mind. She certainly had the spirit for it, if she's any good at playing... No, no, she scolded for getting so ahead of herself. She shouldn't even be talking so casually to the child but she wasn't able to stop herself as she smiled and walked over yo join Edith at the piano and lifted the cover off the keys.

"Okay, play whatever you want kiddo," she said, waving her hand as an extra go ahead. Once again, Jane was surprised. She had thought that Edith would start banging loudly on random keys but instead she quietly played one note at a time, getting a feel for how each key sounded. Then she would play simple little made up phrases from the notes once she got a feel for them. Jane watched wide eyed as the child continued her patterns. Then she had an idea.

"Edith, do you think if I played a song for you you would be able to play it back?" Edith tugged on her hat as she thought about it for a minute. She nodded. Jane scooted closer to her on the bench and placed one hand over the keys. Once she thought had thought of a simple enough song, she turned to her.

"Ready?" She nodded again.

Jane played the simplest version of Fur Elise she could think of. She glanced at the child as she played and saw that she was deep in concentration. Her tongue was sticking out of the corner of her mouth and she stared unblinkingly at the woman's fingers as they moved deftly across the instrument. After she finshed the song she looked up at Edith with a smile. "Your turn, Blondie."

The woman was nervous as she watched her place her small hands over the keys. If Edith did badly, a part of her would be disappointed and if she did well...well, she still wasn't sure what would happen if she did well.

Edith started slowly, a look of total concentration on her face as she played on note after another. She was doing very well until her finger slipped and a blaringly loud wrong note rang out. Edith's face dropped a little at the sound, but continued to play past the mistake. Just like a pro, Jane thought, impressed, as she continued to watch the little girl. After the first wrong note, there were absolutely no other mistakes. After Edith finished the song, she began to play again, this time with a much faster tempo. She played perfectly, as did she the third time, where she played at a tempo that would put many musical veterans to shame.

"So how awesome was that, Miss Jane?" The girl said, turning to her only audience member with those big, blue, partially concealed eyes and a triumphant smile on her face.

Jane felt her heat melting. Oh, crap.

"That was amazing, kiddo. You certainly have a gift." Edith beamed at her from under her hat. That had been so much fun, it was as good as playing with her father's weaponry, if not better. She smiled wider as she thought of how proud her dad would be when she told him about this. Miss Jane certainly looked proud.

Edith was usually very mistrustful of adults and as a result of that she often paid them no respect, except for her Dad of course. But she immediatly felt connected to Miss Jane. Maybe the music had done it, but she trusted the woman. She looked kinda like an older Margo, she'd thought when she first saw her. She had long brown hair and a round face and eyes so dark they almost looked black.

After Edith was done playing the piano, Jane had shown her some of the other instruments in the room and played a few short songs on each of them. They were having so much fun they hardly heard the final bell of the day ring. Jane looked up at her clock in suprise. "Oh wow, school's over alrealdy." Edith looked up too.

"Oops," she said rather nonchalantly. The woman raised her eyebrow at her.

"Oops what?" Edith shrugged.

"Well, I only meant to skip math but I had so much fun in here I accidentally skipped...well, everything." Jane could tell she didn't really care that she had missed her classes. Jane didn't care either, she was sure Edith had learned more information that she would actually use than she would have back in her classes anyway. But she had just got this job, and although it wasn't exactly a career that she had wanted, she didn't want to lose it yet.

"Well, as a teacher I'm oblified to tell you not to skip class anymore. School is very important," she said in a very flat and unenthused tone. Edith caught her insincerity and grinned.

"But if I can't come here during school, when will I ever get to come?" Jane thought for a moment. Edith hadn't asked her to tutor her in piano yet, which was good. She really liked the child. She was a very hyper, rowdy child and the woman loved that. But she took music very seriously, and she didn't think that she could full on tutor someone that wasn't serious about it. She wasn't sure about the blond child. She had obvious natural talent and she had been very enthusiastic today. But would she still be that way after a few lessons? She would have to get to know her better.

"If you ever have a free block, like a study hall or something, come by here, okay?" Edith smiled widely and opened her mouth to reply when she was interrupted by a beep from her wrist watch. She raised it to her face and pressed a button on the side.

"Hi, Dad."

"Are you alrght?" Jane's eyes widened at the strange accent that relplied from the watch. "You are usually de firrst one out of de school."

"I know, I was just talking to someone. Be right there!" She pressed another button and slung her pink back pack over her shoulder. "I have to go, my dad's here," she said rather sullenly. Jane gave her a smile.

"Well then I'll see you soon." Edith flashed her another smile as she ran out the door.

After she was gone, Jane wrapped her arms around her stomach, a weaker smile gracing her lips. "What have I gotten myself into...?

* * *

"So how was your day, gurls?" The villian ask as he drove over a small red car that was kind of vaguely in the direction he was going. Margo really hoped that the vehicle was empty. She didn't glance back to check, just in case. Edith, however, did.

"Aww man, I think it was empty." Margo was relieved and slightly disturbed by her little sisters comment.

"Daddy?" Agnes spoke from between her big sisters.

"Yes, Agnes?" Glancing back at his youngest daughter, he saw that she had a slightly guilty look on her face.

"We kind of need to get a monkey by Friday..."

"A monkey? Wha-why, why do we need to be geeting a monkey?"

"Mrs. Stiles was reading us Curious George today. It was such a good story that I told everybody that we had a monkey named George. She told me to bring him for show and tell friday," she said simply. Her father groaned, pinching the bridge of his long nose between his fingers.

"Agnes, why did you tell your class that we have a monkey?" Margo asked her sister, exasperated. The five year old shrugged.

"It seemed like a good idea, at the time."

"Okay, okay, we will discuss dis monkey business later, Agnes. Edith, how was your day?"

His middle child took a deep breath her story.

"Today during school we had math but math is stupid and I was hungry so I snuck out of class to go find a snack but I got lost and all of a sudden I heard this awesome music so I followed it and there was this lady with a piano. She was wicked nice." She finally paused to take a breath. Margo looked at her little sister, disbelief written on her face.

"You skipped math? Edith, didn't we talk about this this mor- wait." The rest of the middle child's story registered in her brain. "You met a teacher that you like?" She asked, her eyes wide in shock. Edith shrugged.

"Yeah. But she has like every instrument known to man, and she can play all of them!" She whispered the last few words excitedly. "She let me hold most of them." She finished proudly. "Gru looked back at his daughter, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I didn't know you had such intrrest in de museek."

"Well, I didn't know either. But when I heard her playing the piano, I dunno, it was just so cool, Dad. I can play Furr Ellis now, she showed me how." Now Gru was impressed. He didn't know much about music but learning a song in less than an hour when she'd never played before had to be impressive.

"You learned Fur Elise? Dat is verry good, Edith." She beamed at her father's praise. Margo cleared her throat quietly. She was glad Edith was finally cooperating with an adult that wasn't their dad, and she was even happier she had found something she was interested in. But they couldn't ignore that she had skipped an important class. As she looked at Edith's proud smile, she couldn't bring herself to ruin her sisters moment. She settled back into the plush car seat. She would just have to talk to her father about it later.

**_So, what do you guys think? I hope everyone is in character. This story will be a GruxOC story, but it will be more about the girls and their relationship to their father and Jane. For those who read Sugar and Spice, the next chapter is almost ready. I'll explain why it took so long there. please Review! XOXO W_**


	2. Chapter 2

"...eighty, eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three..." Margo paused, listening for any signs of her sisters. She could no longer hear their giggles or the sound of their 'sneaky' footsteps. That meant they were either in a different part of the house, or they were being really quiet. She chuckled to herself at the latter thought. That was unlikely. "One hundred!"

She removed her arms from over her eyes and glanced around the living room. She doubted they would have picked any of the obvious spots that the room contained, but decided to look any way, just in case. She looked under the furniture, behind the curtains, under the panda rug, and there was no sign of her sisters. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips, sighing. This game was going to take forever; Edith and Agnes had gotten very good at finding obscure hiding places.

"Well, I have to start somewhere..." She said to herself. She decided to begin in the closest rooms and then venture to the furthest ones. She wandered down the hallway and opened the first door. After searching that one, she continued to the next. As she looked, she thought back to the first time they had played hide and seek in their new home and smiled at the memory.

_"Come on, Margo!" Edith said, pulling her hat over her eyes in frustration._

_"Yeah, come on Margo!" Little Agnes chimed in. Margo bit her lip hesitantly._

_"I don't know guys, there is a lot of dangerous stuff in here. What if you hid somewhere and got hurt?" Edith groaned, her hat now almost pulled completely over her face._

_"We're not stupid, we wouldn't anywhere dangerous!"_

_"Yeah, we're not stupid!"_

_"Stop that, Agnes."_

_"Sorry."_

_"What is all dis arrguing being about?" Their fathers voice came from the doorway, where he was leaning against the frame with his arms crossed across his broad chest. His two younger daughters immediately latched themselves on to his legs. "What is it, what is de problem?" Two pairs of big eyes looked up with them, one of the blue, one of them brown._

_"We wanna play hide and seek!"_

_"But Margo won't let us."_

_He looked up at his oldest. "Why can dey not play de hide and seek?"_

_"I'm afraid they'll get hurt. I don't mind them exploring with me, but they want me to seek. We're not playing unless I know they going to be safe," she answered, crossing her arms stubbornly. Agnes peeked around her father's leg and stuck her bottom lip out. Margo turned away from the big watery eyes. "Don't look at me like that, Agnes," she sighed. Her father studied her for a moment and then kneeled down until they were eye to eye._

_"Chillax, Margo. I will help dem find de good hiding places." Edith raised her arms in victory._

_"Alright, Dad's on our team!" Margo looked at her adoptive father, surprise written on her features._

_"Really?"_

_"Well, chyeahh, I am de parent here," he said, picking up a giggling Agnes and placing her on his shoulder. "Come on, Edith, let's find somewhere dat is discreetly nonfatal." He took her small hand in his and as he lead her out of the room Margo heard Edith whisper,_

_"How about the Iron Maiden?" Their father just chuckled._

_Margo just stood there, a warm feeling of adoration for her dad spreading from her chest to her fingertips. She didn't have to be the parent anymore. She and her sisters had one, a real one that loved them and worried about them. She didn't have to do it anymore. The realization brought joyful tears to her eyes. Why hadn't hit her sooner? Their father had done so much for them since the day of the moon heist. She would have to find a way to thank him later, she thought as she wiped the tears from her cheeks._

_"Margo, we arre ready!" She grinned as she walked out the door in search of her family._

_She called Gru dad for the first time that night._

The subject of her thoughts was sitting at the kitchen table, looking over some notes with his bushy brows furrowed. Margo entered the room quietly, glancing around for any obvious signs of the two younger girls. She saw none.

"Hey Dad," she said as she propped elbows up on the table and rested her head in her hands. Gru glanced up from his notes and his eyes immediately softened at the sight of his oldest daughter.

"Hello, Margo. What is popping?" She would have giggled at his accented slang, had she not been used to it; still, it never failed to make her smile.

"We're playing hide and go seek. Have you seen them?" Gru tapped his chin in thought, his eyes turned towards the ceiling. He had seen Edith and Agnes as he was leaving one of the upstairs bathrooms. Edith had come running between his legs, almost throwing him off balance.

"Hi, Dad, bye Dad!" His little Agnes followed a few feet behind, her little legs struggling to keep up.

"Don't tell Margo you saw us!" She had called over her shoulder.

"Hmm. No, no I haven't..." He couldn't tell her where he had seen them, but he wanted to help her somewhere. He had played hide and seek with his girls plenty of times and he knew that Margo was a way stronger hider than she was a seeker. He glanced down at his wristwatch, identical to the ones each of the girls wore. "Light bulb," he trilled as he unlatched the watch from his wrist and handed it to Margo. "Press de button on de bottom left." She did as he was instructed and an arrow replaced the time in the center of the device. Three dots, each of them a different color, appeared on the screen as well. The blue dot seemed to be right in the middle of the arrow while a red one and a green one were placed close together behind it. She looked up at her villainous father with a raised brow.

"There are tracking devices in our watches?" She asked accusingly.

"Yes. Yes dere are," he answered, totally unashamed.

Margo nodded. Other children would have probably complained about the whole invasion of privacy thing, but she knew it was necessary for her and her sisters. Their father was a big time villain, probably with more enemies then they knew about. There was a good possibility that they might get kidnapped a few more times, (from what Margo saw on the news many villains weren't very creative) but Margo didn't worry about it. Gru was the best villain/dad in the world and he wouldn't let anything happen to them.

"Go on and find your seestors," he said, turning her around towards the door and pushing lightly on her back. "It is almost time to be making deenor."

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going." She followed the arrow out of the kitchen and down the hall back to the living room. It was now pointing her towards a wall and she guessed that meant she needed to go upstairs. She began to trudge up the wooden stairs, each step creaking under her feet.

The arrow led her to the door of a room that none of them really went into much. Gru used it as a storage room and the one time the three sisters went in to explore they only stayed for a few minutes before declaring boredom and moving on to another room. Margo mentally applauded her sisters; she really never would have thought of looking there. She turned the door knob and stepped inside the dusty old room. It was just as dull as she remembered it. Tons of old boxes were stacked one on top of another and some of the stacks were covered with yellowing sheets.

She was about to glance down at her father's watch for direction when she heard excited whispers coming from the back of the room. She maneuvered around the columns of cardboard until she was able to see a pink hat and a black ponytail.

"There you guys are, I-" she paused when she got sight of what her sisters were looking at. A massive piano was propped against the wall, except that instead of just one row of keys it had three. The body of the instrument, though very dusty, was absolutely beautiful. The wood had intricate patterns carved all along the top and the sides and there were little gold embellishments along the carvings. The instrument seemed incomplete, however; there seemed to be something missing from the top and sides.

"Margo!" Edith exclaimed, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her closer to the huge instrument. "Isn't it the most awesome thing you've ever seen?"

"I wonder how we didn't notice it when we were up here before?" She mused, pulling Agnes off an unsteady looking pile of boxes that she was attempting to climb.

"It had a big blanket on it," the five year old answered cheerfully. The two watched the blond haired sister bounce up to the keys of the instrument. She pressed one down on the first row and frowned at the silence that followed.

"Oh man, it doesn't work," she said sullenly, pulling her hat further over her ears. Margo sat Agnes back down and went to study the instrument closer.

"It looks like it just needs to be put together. We can go ask Dad about it." Edith brightened up immediately.

"Yeah, Dad can fix it!" She bounded over boxes towards the exit without saying another word.

"Edith, wait! Be careful!" Margo flinched as a box came very close to falling on the blond child and then took off after her.

Agnes looked around at the suddenly very dark room and thought she saw one of the sheets move on its own. She ran after her sisters with outstretched arms. "Wait for me!"

* * *

"Oh, yes. I had almost forgotteen about dat," Gru said, shoveling a good helping of mashed potatoes on each of four plates.

"What is it?" Edith asked excitedly. "It doesn't look like a piano," she stated before shoving a huge spoon full of the potatoes into her mouth

"Dat's because it is an organ. Possibly de most famous organ in the world," he said. He then noticed Agnes had a whole porkchop hanging from her mouth and was shaking it around like a dog. He chuckled fondly at her before removing the meat and cutting it into pieces.

"Where'd you get it?" Margo asked.

"From de cellar of de most well known opera house in Paris. It belonged to a man who was famous for being a total creeper. He got a bad sunburn one summer and den believed himself to be horribly disfigured. He moved to de cellar of de Paris Opera and refused to come out." Gru shook his head at the stupidity of the subject of his story.

"Why'd you take his organ?" Agnes asked, confused. "You don't know how to play."

"I thought he would offer me a lot of money to be geeting it back, but he was arrested a few days later on stalking and keednapping charges," Gru finished with a shrug.

"Cool." Edith said. "So can I have it?"

Gru grinned at his middle child. Always straight to the point, that was his Edith. "Sure, I am not seeing why not. We will put it together later."

"Alright!" Edith cheered. A soft throat clearing sound came from the center of the booth. Everyone turned their addition to Agnes, who had a very business like look on her face.

"So Daddy, about my monkey..." Gru sighed.

"I just do not see how I will be able to be acquiring a monkey in four days Agnes." The five year old's eyes began to fill with moisture. The villian already felt his resolve weakening. "Agnes please, do not cry..."

"All the kids in Mrs. Stiles class are going to think I'm a liar," she said miserabley.

"Well," Margo began, "you did lie about havi-"

"Do not worry, keetin, no one will theenk you are a liar. Daddy will be geeting you a monkey," he said comfortingly, patting the little girl's back.

"Oh, thank you, Daddy!" Agnes squealed, throwing her arms around his thin arms. Edith and Margo rolled their eyes but they had smiles on their faces that matched the one on their dad's.

After dinner, Gru herded his daughters up the stairs to get ready for bed. "I will be coming up in ten minutes to tuck you in!" He called before trudging over to his alligator couch and plopping down. He was already stressed enough trying to plan his next big scheme. Now he had to worry about finding a monkey by Friday. He ran a hand over his smooth head and let out a tired sigh. He was beginning to nod off when Edith's voice carried down into the living room.

"Dad, we're ready!" Gru stood up, stretching his tired muscles.

"Okay, I will be right there." He climbed up to the girls' room, picking up scattered toys on the way. He opened the door to find his three daughters looking up at him with sleepy eyes. A wave of calmness swept over him at the sight. What had he been worrying about again? He kissed each of his girls on the forehead and told them good night. When he reached Margo, he noticed a drawing on the floor next to her bed.

"What is this?" He asked, picking it up.

"Its a bald eagle," Margo answered with a yawn. "They're an endangered species."

"Oh, well it is very good-" he froze as an idea entered his brain. "Light buulb."

After he got back to the living room he called the lab. Dr. Nefario appeared on the television screen, half asleep.

"What is it, Gru?" He said groggily.

"Dr. Nefario, I need information on all local zoos and animal reservations," Gru said with a smirk. The worlds greatest villain was back in business.


	3. Chapter 3

_She sat on the floor in the corner of the crowded room, clutching her violin case loosely to her chest. People who were way beyond her age had already taken out their instruments and begun to warm up. The girl didn't bother; she knew the material._

_"Oh, how adorable, you must be the little genius," a gray haired woman had wondered over and was kneeling next to her. The sixteen year old flushed and held her case tighter._

_"I'm not a genius, ma'am," she mumbled politely. She wasn't usually shy around other musicians, but something was different tonight. She was nervous, for the first time in her life, she was nervous. But it wasn't just nerves. She was afraid. Fear radiated from her stomach and flowed through her veins, causing every part of her to tremble. Why did she feel like this? The old woman must have noticed her shaking, for her kind smile slipped into a worried frown._

_"Oh my dear, calm down, you're going to be just fine. You've played to crowds way bigger than this, yes?" The girl nodded numbly. She wanted to tell the woman something was wrong, she wanted to tell everyone to forget about that night's performance. Something horrible was going to happen, but she didn't know what. Before she knew what was happening everyone was gathering up their things, preparing to go on stage._

_The happy chattering of the musicians seemed to be miles away as the girl stood up with weak knees and followed every one out. The curtain was still closed when they reached the stage, six long rows of chairs curved from one end to the other. As everyone found their appropriate seats, the girl made her way to the front of the stage where there was a lone music stand in the center. She uncased her violin and stood silently, her heart pounding away in her chest. Soon everyone behind as well as outside the curtain quieted down as the heavy read material began to seperate._

_"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice announced over the intercom as the girl raised her violin to her shoulder, "soloist Jane Overton and the New Harmony Orchestra."_

_Jane let the silence ring dramatically for a few seconds before finally pulling her bow across the strings of her instrument. As she heard the rest of the orchestra join in, the let the song wash her worries away. This is where she belonged; nothing could hurt her here._

_As the music swelled, she felt the fear return, worse than before. She wanted to stop playing, to scream for everyone to stop, to get out of the building. But her body seemed to know that there was nothing she could do but play, so she did. She continued to play even as the ear piercing screams reached her ears, even as red and orange blasts flashed before her, as the heat reached her face. Even after all the other performers had ran from the stage in fear, as the only sound that could be heard was the thundering booms of explosions, she continued her song. Even as the tears ran down her face, she finished her song._

_Why, Daddy? Why?_

Jane woke up to the obnoxious whirring of her alarm clock. She groaned, wiping the moisture from her face as she sat up; whether it was tears, or sweat, or both, she couldn't tell. She hissed as her head gave a nasty throb.

Just great, she thought as she slipped out of bed and made the short walk to her apartment's small kitchen. Her first day of teaching and she had a killer headache. She had been excited about this day for awhile now, however after a restless night of nightmares she was a little less than enthusiastic.

She tried not to think of the dream as she filled a glass with water and tossed a few pain relievers into her mouth. She had gone almost a year without reliving that night, why had it popped up all of a sudden?

She sighed, splashing some cold water into her face in an attempt to wake herself up further. It was probably just stress from worrying about the new job she was starting.

A teacher, she mused as she stepped into the bathroom and began to disrobe. She, Jane Harvey, was going to be teaching music to children. She cringed at the thought. She loved music and she adored kids as well, but handing noisemakers to youngsters with short attention spans and no idea had to use them was hardly a good idea. She shuddered at the thought of little boys and girls picking their noses, handling her equipment with sticky fingers.

"Oh god, let me have the older kids first," she muttered to herself as she stepped in the shower. Being a teacher had never crossed her mind until about a year ago. She had decided she didn't want to live off the money she had...borrowed from her father anymore. She knew she could have easily took up performing again. After a sample of her playing she knew any musical group in the world would hire her in a heartbeat...but at the same time she knew she couldn't. She'd barely performed since that night nearly twenty years ago; it had scarred her into a case of extreme performance anxiety that she couldn't overcome.

As she stepped out of the shower and began to towel off, her hand grazed over the thick scar on her abdomen and she flinched. There was always one reminder after another of her dear father, even after fifteen years of no communication with him.

She scurried around her room as she collected things that she needed for the day, trying to get relieve her mind of its dismal thoughts. As she was slipping her shoes on, her stomach gave a loud grumble, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since the previous morning.

She trudged back into the kitchen and opened her cabinet in search of something to eat.

* * *

"Okay, gurls, what will you be wanting for breakfast?" Gru asked, sifting through the contents of his cabinets. He turned to the booth where the three girls where sitting. Margo was busy helping Agnes button her overalls and Edith had her head down on the table, sleeping.

"Umm, just pancakes are fine," Margo said, shaking Edith, who in return just started snoring louder.

"Unicorn pancakes," Agnes added, kicking her legs back and forth happily.

"Very well," Gru chuckled as he began to happily pour materials into a mixing bowl. He contemplated this happiness as he began to mix. It rivaled the feeling he had after successfully completing a heist, or making elderly men cry. How making pancakes made him feel that way, he didn't know, and he didn't care. It was for his girls and that was all that mattered.

After completing the pancakes he placed a plate with a different shape in front of each of the girls; a unicorn for Agnes, a sun for Margo, and a ray gun for the still sleeping Edith. The villain placed his hand gently the blond's shoulder.

"Edith, it is time to wake up, you are geeting drool all over de table." The girl mumbled as she lifted her face off the table and removed the fork that was stuck to her face. Her father chuckled warmly. "Good morning, head dat is being sleepy."

"Yeah, yeah, mornin," she said, rubbing her eyes. She caught sight of the pancake in front of her and immediately brightened up. "Ohh, it looks just like the desintegrater!" She said before assaulting it with syrup.

After Margo finished her breakfast, she rinsed her plate off and turned to her father. "Dad, can I talk to you in the living room for a second?"

"Sure, Margo," he complied, although he looked confused. After they had left the kitchen, Agnes looked up at Edith with large eyes, but Edith was too absorbed in her breakfast to notice. After a few moments, the five year old finally spoke up.

"Um, Edith?"

"Yeah?" When it took Agnes a moment to answer, Edith looked up from her food to see that the girl had a concerned look on her face. "Whats wrong?" Once again, her little sister hesitated.

"I had a bad dream last night..." Edith looked at her blankly.

"So? It was just a dream." Agnes bit her lip nervously.

"Yeah but..." She leaned in and whispered, "I accidentally wet the bed." Edith took in her sisters fearful eyes and sighed, pulling the young girl closer to her. She knew why Agnes was afraid. Whenever she had an accident at the orphanage, Miss Hattie made her sleep in the box of shame every night for weeks and wouldn't let her back in her bed until she went so long with out having nightmares.

The older girl was quiet for a moment as she thought of what to say. Usually Margo was the reassuring sister; why Agnes had chosen to confide in her instead, Edith didn't know. But she would try her hardest.

"What're you worried about? This isn't the orphanage, Agnes. Dad won't get mad at you for having an accident." The black haired girl smiled in relief.

"You think so?" Edith couldn't hold back an eye roll.

"Duh, Dad loves you. He wouldn't make you sleep in a box," she said simply.

"Ahh," Agnes sighed contently and went back to eating her pancake. A few moments later Gru followed Margo back into the kitchen. Agnes, opened her mouth to talk but closed it seconds later. She nervously glanced at Edith, who gave her a firm nod.

"Daddy?" She said weakly as he sat down.

"Agnes, if dis is about de monkey, I told you I would be taking care of dat-"

"No, its about something different." She crawled over into his lap and motioned for him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear. His eyes widened as he listened.

"Oh! Oh, well um. I will just get some of de minions to clean it up while you are at school. Do not worry, your bed will be nice and clean for you tonight," he said, patting her head. She was still for a moment, as if taking in what he had said. He really wasn't mad at all. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He froze for only a second before returning the hug.

"Okay, okay," he said, placing her on the floor and standing up. "Let's go get in de tank, you will be late for de school if we don't leave." Gru lead the way to the front and held the door open for Agnes and Margo. As Edith went to pass him, he stopped her.

"If you skip any more classes I will have to be putting you on de ground from de video games. And dat is final," he said, sounding very rehearsed. Edith scowled.

"Margo put you up to this, didn't she?" She accused.

"Yes," Gru said simply as he stepped outside. Edith followed, mumbling under her breath.

* * *

"Okay, class, repeat after me: five times two is ten. Five times three is fifteen..."

Edith listened as the rest of her class echoed the information. She barely registered what was being said; she may have promised Margo she wouldn't skip but she didn't say anything about paying attention. She pulled her hat over her eyes and began to drum absentmindedly on the desk with her fingers.

"Miss Gru? Are you sleeping during my class?" She raised her hat over one eye.

"Amazingly, no," she answered honestly. Mr. Banhill strolled over to where was she sitting.

"It seems like this hat is preventing you from giving me your full attention." Edith's heart nearly stopped as she felt the comfortable weight of her hat leaving her head. She jumped out of her chair as the teacher turned to head back to his desk. A white hot rage filled her head as she began to run towards him. There was a collective gasp as the class watched Edith kick Mr. Banhill in the back of the leg.

"Ouch! You kicked me!" He cried, clutching his leg dramatically. Edith picked up her hat and as she slipped it back on her head she immediately calmed down. She looked from the shocked faces of her classmates to her the angry face of her teacher.

"Uh oh...um, five times two equals ten?" She said with a nervous laugh.

"Out. In the hallway. Now." Mr. Banhill's face seemed to be getting redder by the second.

"But, but-ouch!" Banhill had grabbed her by the ear and proceeded to drag her out of the room. "What're you doing, let me go!"

"I'm taking you to the principal's office. Every day, you come into my class acting like a stupid brat. You don't pay attention, you don't participate, I can't stand it anymore. I don't even know how you made it to third grade-"

"Excuse me, what is going on here?" A cold voice came from behind them. Edith finally wriggled out of the teacher's grasp and spun around.

"Miss Jane!" She said excitedly. The dark haired woman was standing with crossed arms, a blank look on her face. Edith made to walk over to her when Banhill grabbed the back of her shirt.

"Oh, Ms. Harvey. Edith here was sleeping in my class. I disciplined her and she attacked me. I'm taking her to see the principal."

"He took my hat," Edith grumbled as she tried to break free. She noticed that the blank expression on Miss Jane's face had turned to anger, but it wasn't directed at her.

"Mr. Banhill, I heard the way you were talking to Edith all the way down the hall. Its not appropriate to speak to an eight year old like that." Banhill seemed to be at a loss for words.

"You can't-who-she's my student!" He spluttered, once again turning red with anger. Jane didn't back down.

"Your anger is clouding your judgment. Let me take Edith to the office, before you say something you'll regret, okay?" The man looked baffled.

"Well, my class is being left unattended right now... I suppose it would be okay for you to escort her..." He released the back of Edith's shirt and she marched over to the woman indignantly.

"Come with me, Ms. Gru.," Jane said, turning and beginning in the other direction without another word. She heard the clip clop of the girl's boots behind her and didn't have to look  
to see if she was following.

"Um, Miss Jane?" The girl spoke up nervously. The woman stopped walking and glanced around to make sure there weren't any random faculty members hanging around. She removed the false severe expression from her face as she turned to look at the blond.

"You alright, kiddo?" She said, moving so Edith could walk beside her. The girl gave her ear a little rub and shrugged.

"Yeah. I wasn't even sleeping though... I didn't mean to kick him, but he took my hat," she mumbled, giving said hat a tug.  
Jane chuckled warmly.

"Don't worry about it, Blondie. He probably would have done the same thing to you if you tried to take his toupee." Edith looked up with a triumphant smile.

"I knew it was fake!" She said happily as they walked past the office. She slowed her steps slightly, confused. "Aren't you taking me to see the principal?" Jane didn't stop walking.

"Pfft, no. We're going to my class. Unless you want to see her?" Edith quickly shook her head, smiling ear to ear.

"You must be the coolest teacher ever!" The woman shrugged.

"Coolest, worst, I guess they mean the same to different people," she answered absently. If anyone found out about this she would be so fired. But she wasn't able to help herself. She had been in the bathroom when she'd heard the yelling. Stupid brat, it had said. God, those words alone were enough to make her blood boil, then after seeing who the words were directed at she just about blew her top. If it had been any other child, she probably would've just told the teacher to watch his mouth and then continued to let him handle the situation. But it had been the blond girl she'd met the day before, and she would be damned if she let anyone treat her that way. She didn't know where this odd protectiveness came from, but she knew better than to fight it. Once her subconscious decided something, there was no going back.

She smiled down at the girl, who returned it enthusiastically.

* * *

.

"Bread, check. Eggs, check. Flour, check. Little Debbie snacks, check. Plutonium, oops, wrong list." Gru paused in the middle of the aisle as he matched the items in his cart to the words on the paper in his hand. He sighed in relief when he saw he was nearing the end of the list.

Of all the mundane activities he had to participate in, grocery shopping was by far his least favorite. Although he missed his girls while they were at school, a part of him was relieved that they there and not at the grocery store with him. It seemed that every time he brought them to the market he ended up with the whole store in his cart.

_"Dad, this looks good, we should try it."_

_"Dad, can I have this?"_

_"Daddy, I need this!"_

Cookie Crisp cereal, the last item on the list read. As he made his way to the cereal aisle, a ringing sounded from his pocket. He pulled his phone out and recognized the number immediately.

"Dr. Nefario. What have you found out?"

"The rarest monkey in the world is the Tonkin snub-nosed. There are only five in the world."

"Where is de closest one?"

"There's one in an animal sanctuary a few towns over. But I'm a bit confused here about what the plan is."

"I'm going to keednap one of de monkeys for Agnes and then sell it to whoever offers me de most money."

"...thats it? Thats hardly the crime of the century, Gru." The villain rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I am knowing dis. I'm going to stick to small crimes until I finish planning de next big heist. Dat way we'll have enough money for anyting we might need and de world will not know what hit dem." He paused as he scanned the cereal aisle for the brand on his list. He finally found it on the top row a few feet down from him. A small boy was standing on his tiptoes, trying and failing miserably to reach it. "I will call you later," Gru said before hanging up.

He watched in amusement as the boy began to climb the shelves like a ladder. He grabbed the box with a triumphant smile and began to shimmy his way back to the ground. Gru noticed the spot where the cereal had been was now empty and frowned thoughtfully. That was the girls' favorite cereal. Oh well, he thought as he made to walk past the still celebrating boy. Then suddenly the box disappeared from his small hands.

Looking up, he saw a large man putting his cereal in a cart and thought he felt himself pee his pants a little. He must have made a sound for the man looked down at him with icy blue eyes. His pants got a little wetter as a cold voice spoke to him.

"Sucks for you, keed," Gru said before casually strolling away. He walked past the cashier towards the parking lot, cursing to himself after a glance at his watch told him he was running late.

"E-excuse me sir," the greasy haired clerk squeaked, "you have to p-"

"Freeze-ray!"

* * *

"Its fine, Dad, really. We'll be fine," Margo spoke into her watch. Her father had just called to tell her that he was going to be a little late. She didn't mind; it was the first time it had ever happened, so it wasn't a big deal.

"Do not leave de school building, alright? Do you have your taser with you?" Margo sighed, although secretly she was enjoying his protectiveness.

"Yes, Dad. Alright, see you soon," she ended the conversation with her father before setting off to find her sisters. Agnes was still in her kindergarten class, drawing in a bean bag chair. She smiled happily when she saw her older sister.

"Hi Margo!" She chirped sweetly, setting down her notepad and popping out of the chair. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's gonna be a little late. We're going to play at school for awhile." Agnes agreed and went back to drawing while Margo called Edith on her wristwatch. When she answered music was audible in the background.

"Hello?"

"Edith, where are you? Dad's gonna be late."

"Oh! You have to come meet Miss Jane, she is soo cool!" Margo hesitated.

"Um, are you sure you don't want to come and wait in Agnes' class instead?" Edith scoffed.

"No way, come on Margo!" The older sister sighed.

"Alright, alright. We'll be right there." Margo pressed the button on the side of her watch. Agnes sat her notepad down again and took the older girl's hand.

It didn't take them long to find the music room; all they had to do was follow their ears. Margo opened the door to the sight of her sister and a dark haired woman sitting side by side in front of a piano, wrapped up in a duet. Agnes squeezed her and and looked up at her, wide eyed.

"Edith is doing that?" She said in an amazed voice. Margo didn't answer immediately; she was just as shocked. The song was beautiful, and if there was any mistakes being made, she couldn't tell. The song ended quicker than the two observing sisters wanted it to and it took Margo a minute to find her voice.

"Wow, Edith, that was amazing!" The middle sister spun around on the bench, a huge smile on her face as she bounced over two where the two girls were standing.

"Wasn't it? Its from Beauty and the Beast, Miss Jane just taught me. Come and meet her, she's the best!" The woman observed the children from her seat in front of the piano, a small smile on her face. Although the Gru sisters looked nothing alike, they had one thing in common: they were all absolutely adorable. She watched as the two unfamiliar children sauntered towards her, shy smiles pulling at their lips. The youngest girl stuck her tiny little hand out.

"Hello. I'm Agnes Gru," she said, the shy smile quickly replaced with a delighted grin. Jane was sure a part of her had died from a cuteness overload as she took the small hand in her own. The oldest one offered hers as well.

"And I'm Margo Gru." Jane took the girl's hand as well.

"Its nice to meet you, Agnes and Margo. Edith's told me a lot about you." Agnes flinched.

"She didn't tell you I wet the bed last night did she?" Margo's eyes widened in embarrassment but the woman just chuckled.

"Nope. I know nothing about that." Edith elbowed her older sister.

"I told you she was awesome," she whispered. Agnes giggled innocently.

"I like you, you're pretty." Jane tried her hardest to stay in a solid state as she felt her heart turning to goo. What was it with these sisters? It was like they had some kind of super power that could turn adults into mush.

"I like you too," she said, delighted. Edith had reclaimed her seat next to Jane on the piano bench and Margo was looking around at her vast array of instruments.

"You can really play all of these?" She asked curiously. She opened her mouth to answer but the blond on her right beat her to it.

"Yup. Its awesome." Jane chuckled.

"I'm beginning to think that everything's awesome to you, Blondie."

"You have noo idea," Margo said, running her hand over some bongo drums. Jane watched her for a moment, an idea forming in her head.

"Would you guys like to play a song together?" A chorus of eager consent rang out as all three girls gathered around her. She left the bench and went to her shelves, studying her instruments thoughtfully. She picked out a tambourine and handed to Agnes, who squealed in delight as she gave it an excited shake. She told Margo to go to the bongos, and Edith to the piano. She kneeled next to the youngest sister and showed her how to shake a steady rhythm with the tambourine. After showing Margo a simple beat on the bongos, she moved on to Edith, showing her a series of different chords and licks, most of which she picked up immediately.

After all three sisters had begun to play, Jane stood back and listened; even though Margo and Agnes made occasional mistakes, it sounded really good. Jane picked her violin from her desk and joined in, playing in a very staccato style that matched the song very well. Soon she found their tempo had doubled, then tripled, and soon the girls where giggling madly as the speed kept growing and growing, and Jane couldn't help but join in on their laughter.

Soon the speed was too much to keep up and the music came to a crashing halt. The sound of laughter carried on past the end of the song and buried underneath it was applause. Jane looked towards the door to find the source of the clapping and was greeted by the sight of a tall man with skinny arms and legs, dressed in dark clothes and a striped scarf. He would have been rather intimidating, had it not been for the tender look he was directing at the three little girls in the room.

"Daddy!" Little Agnes ran towards the man, who automatically bent down to scoop the giggling girl into his arms.

"Dat was very impressive," he said, no evidence of a lie anywhere on his features. Margo went over to join her father and sister at the door.

"Did you really like it? I think the only ones who knew what they were doing were Edith and Miss Jane." Gru's eyes flicked to the dark haired woman standing next to his middle daughter at the piano and immediately took on a colder expression.

"You're the Miss Jane Edith told me about?" He asked with an air of indifference. The woman nodded, not phased by his attitude.

"Yes, Mr. Gru. I'm Jane Harvey." She introduced herself but showed no intention of coming any closer. Gru was both relieved that she wasn't going to get any closer and disappointed that he wasn't going to make a show of rejecting her handshake. "I have to say, you have gorgeous daughters," she continued, looking fondly around the room at the three girls, who beamed at her in return.

"I know dis," Gru responded shortly in an attempt to be stuffy but he knew his icy demeanor had melted just a little bit at her praise of his girls.

"And Edith has amazing raw musical talent..." Jane took a steadying breath. Yes, she was now sure this was a good idea. "Actually, Mr. Gru, if Edith wants to and you're okay with it, I would love to give her private music lessons." Edith practically jumped out of her skin.

"Are you crazy? I would love to!" A second later she was wrapped around her fathers thin legs. "Oh, please, Dad, please please please please!" Gru hesitated, feeling very uncomfortable. He didn't even know anything about this woman. The thought of her coming into his home and spending hours with his daughter was certainly rubbing him the wrong way. But his Edith seemed to love her, and judging by the pleading expression on their faces, Margo and Agnes did too. He sighed; there was no way he could say no to those faces. But once his daughters weren't around to see he would make his rules very clear to the music teacher. But for now, he just said,

"Okay, okay. If Edith wants to." Everyone in the room cringed as the normally tough middle sister let out a very Agnes like squeal.

"Alright! Thanks, Dad!" Jane smiled, obviously pleased.

"Edith tells me you have an organ. I would like to come take a look at it sometime, if that's okay." Gru raised an eyebrow, regaining the cold attitude.

"You may come on Saturday," he said simply, before turning away. "Come on, gurls." The sisters followed their father out the door, each of them giving a last "Bye, Miss Jane!"

Once they were gone, Jane wrapped her arms around her abdomen. What a creeper... Where had she seen him before?

**_Authors note.. Hey you guys. So here's the dealio. I'm getting a ton of favorites and alerts for this story buy barely anyone leaves reviews. Its kind of a bummer because I really want to hear what you guys are thinking. So if you favorite the story or add it to your alerts, please take two seconds to leave a review.I would love to have at least fifteen before the next update (which will take longer because I'll actually be at school instead of at home having a snow day.) But please review, kay puddin pops?_**


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